Blessing of the Animals 2012

October 14, 2012 | Filed Under Animals, Blessing of the Animals, Harlem/Morningside Heights, The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine 

 

Last week, October 7, the Feast of St. Francis was held at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.  This is held in honor of St. Francis and his love of all God’s creatures.  The service is to honor all living things, to help build peace in the world, and to help build love in our hearts.

I almost didn’t make it to the celebration.  I eventually arrived very, very late.  

 

 

Since it was raining, there weren’t a lot of people standing outside and I was able to get a spot up in the front to take pictures.  Yay!  Now, the trick was to balance my umbrella in one hand and manage to take photos with the other hand AND protect my camera from getting wet.

 

 

This baby kangaroo was one of the last animals to proceed inside the cathedral and one of the first ones to exit. 

He was very antsy and his handler seemed to have a hard time with him, but they both did well.

 

 

This is the baby kangaroo going inside.  I don’t think he cared for the rain.   Someone, a tourist, I assume, quipped behind me, "I had to come all the way to New York City to see a kangaroo."   I thought to myself, "Yes, you can see it all in New York City.  Yes, indeed!" 

Notice the turtle in the lower right-hand corner?   Remember him from last year.

 

 

In another post, I described the day as "rainy" and D. commented, "I love how “rainy” it is. People in Scotland would laugh out loud, truly – and just walk about, not thinking anything was going on whatsoever."  LOL!   I guess some of us here are wimpy about the rain.   It’s a good thing we didn’t melt.   :-D

 

 

The only folks who didn’t seem to mind the rain were the folks in the photo above and below.

 

 

These folks seemed to enjoy the sights, as much as the ones holding umbrellas.  

 

 

After the last animal entered the sanctuary, This gentleman and another one not seen here closed the door.

 

 After the service, a few of the animals in the procession came back outside and hung around for a little while.

 

 

"Lord make me an instrument of thy peace.  Where there is hatred, let me sow love."

~ St. Francis of Assisi

 

 

I remember this lady and her dog from last year.

 

 

"Love of God, love for each other and love of creation"

~ The Very Reverend Dr. James A. Kowalski

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paul Winter, a renowned musician performed during the service and afterwards.

 

 

We all had fun Okay, I had fun dancing to the beat of this drummer.  Cute!

Actually, everyone really did have fun listening and moving to the music. 

 

 

Is this a baboon or orangatan, I wonder?

 

 

Some very white birds. Not sure if they’re doves. 

 

 

A very calm dog being blessed. 

 

 

Normally, after the service, the blessing of the animals is held here in this garden but since it was raining, it was moved indoors. 

 

 

Abandoned chairs in the rain.

 

 

All the chairs had puddles.

 

 

The  rain finally stopped.  These two seem to be resting on the finally quiet steps.

 

Perhaps he was reading a message from someone he was supposed to meet on the steps of the Cathedral?

 

 

 

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Comments

17 Responses to “Blessing of the Animals 2012”

  1. Helen Myers UNITED STATES
    on October 14th, 2012 at 6:28 am

    Beautiful photos, Paz! Each one told its own story. You have such a talented eye. This last one and the empty chairs, plus the little girl smiling with pleasure that you were taking her picture were among my favorites. Thank you for sharing. I’ve heard about this blessing–and have a statue of St. Francis in my yard! I will appreciate it all the more now. GORGEOUS church!

    Reply

  2. Paz UNITED STATES
    on October 14th, 2012 at 4:35 pm

    Thanks for stopping by, Helen! I especially loved the little girl. Actually, both girls took their job very seriously. I think it’s really cool you have a statue of St. Francis in your yard. And yes, the cathedral is gorgeous. It’s one of my favorite places to visit.

    ~ Paz

    Reply

  3. Sara
    on October 15th, 2012 at 12:00 am

    This was a wonderful post, Paz. I enjoyed everything you showed us…the pig with the garland caught my eye especially for some reason. Also, I noticed one man seemed to be holding a large rat! Quite a parade of animals from everywhere. The doors to the cathedral are amazing too.

    I don’t know, but it’s possible we Californians are even wimpier about rain than you NYC natives…

    Reply

  4. Paz UNITED STATES
    on October 15th, 2012 at 1:54 am

    Hi Sara: What good eye-sight you have. That, indeed, was a rat the man was holding. I did get a close-up photo of them but I guess I didn’t post it. When he came close to me with rat, I shrieked and backed up. I’m usually not that dramatic but…

    Paz ;-)

    Reply

  5. Tracy NORWAY
    on October 15th, 2012 at 7:57 am

    This was wonderful to see, Paz… loved your commentary and seeing all the church details! :o ) Happy Day ((HUGS))

    Reply

  6. Bella NETHERLANDS
    on October 15th, 2012 at 7:53 pm

    Paz, how lovely to see another blog post about the blessing of the animals! I love these so much! The piggy is so cute! I have never seen this type of event but would so love to be able to witness something like this. It’s too bad about the rain but it appears there was still a very good attendance! :)

    Reply

    • Paz UNITED STATES
      on October 16th, 2012 at 12:00 pm

      Hi Bella: Yes, there was a very good attendance, despite the rain. The pig was very well behaved. :-) If you were there, I think you’d find the atmosphere full of love, fun and excitement. Roxy would be so well-behaved, too.

      Paz

      Reply

  7. Lily
    on October 16th, 2012 at 11:58 pm

    Wow! what an assortment! your post just made my day.
    : )

    Reply

  8. Sonia A. Mascaro
    on October 21st, 2012 at 8:46 am

    Just great seeing another post about the blessing of the animals! Beautiful photos. And what a impressive and gorgeous church! Thanks for sharing.
    Hope you have a nice Sunday.

    Reply

  9. Rose AUSTRALIA
    on October 23rd, 2012 at 3:21 am

    Paz, I’m enjoying buzzing around your site drinking in all your amazing photos of my fav city in the world (of which I’ve yet to visit) (it’s my dream) But, I didn’t think there was much in this world that could still totally catch me by surprise, but a kangaroo in NYC?!! Well I’ll be…..

    Reply

  10. Mary Sheehan Winn
    on December 3rd, 2012 at 9:49 pm

    Whoa, those are some big doors!
    Wonderful post. Love the array of animals. Seems like the llama need some serious restraint ;)
    You got yourself some fur babies yet. You need some to bring to this event next year ;)
    Thanks for stopping in to see me Paz. xo

    Reply

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